N. Bellmore still uncertain which school will close

During a meeting last Thursday, the North Bellmore School District’s Committee to Explore Educational Options reinforced what Board of Education members said recently — a school will close. For nearly a half-hour, the CEOO then discussed why one of the six elementary schools must close.

The North Bellmore School District takes in Park Avenue Elementary School, which is in North Merrick.

Committee members said that keeping all six schools open would be fiscally irresponsible. “I think each of us on the committee struggles with the idea of closing a school,” said Caren Kabak, a committee member and former North Bellmore parent.

Dinkelmeyer Principal Faith Skelos noted that the budget doesn’t leave much room for cuts. “There’s not much fat there to cut away,” she said. Much of the budget is mandated by the state, particularly the state property-tax levy cap that will take effect in 2012, said district Superintendent Arnold Goldstein. The law states that the levy — the total amount in taxes that a school district must collect in order to meet expenses — cannot rise more than 2 percent a year, unless 60 percent of voters in the district approve a larger increase.

Closing a building would save at least $566,851 to $752,724. Those figures do not factor in a reduction in teachers and staff. On average, the cost of one full-time teacher with seven years of experience is $90,408.

Based on those numbers, the majority of the 22-member committee voted on Thursday to close a school. “If closing a school gets to save programs … I think that’s something we have to look at,” Kabak said. Only one committee member voted against closing a school.

Angela Bennett, a parent representative on the committee, said that she couldn’t agree to close a school because the savings would not fill the district’s budget gap. She encouraged committee members to look at other options, like reducing special staff such as social workers and reading teachers. “Maybe you don’t need as many people as you have,” she said.